The experience for users of Web3 and DeFi today is complex and high-risk.
To do things such as set up a new account or perform a swap between two tokens, users are confronted with deeply technical requirements that they need to understand and accept, or if not, they could lose their assets.
To assess the user experience offered by our selection of leading platforms, we break this down into broadly five questions:
- Tokens and NFTs - are assets predictable, transparent, and secure?
- Transactions - are transactions predictable, transparent, and secure?
- Accounts - are accounts easy to set up and secure?
- Wallets - is the user interface easy to use and intuitive?
- Identity and Login - is my Web3 identity private and secure?
Each of these areas represents a core part of the crypto, Web3, and DeFi experience.
To reimagine the blockchain experience, Aptos introduces a new approach toward token and NFT standardization that, in their eyes, optimizes for ease of use, security, and flexibility over competing blockchains. Similar to Solana, Aptos incorporated its own distinct token standard, separate from the EVM, named the Aptos Coin Standard. Unlike with the EVM (but similar to the Solana approach), the MoveVM removes the need for a new smart contract for every new token issuance, greatly reducing the associated gas costs. Within this design, there are two primary token standards:
Aptos Fungible Asset Standard: This standard helps to streamline the tokenization of diverse assets such as commodities, real estate, and in-game assets. Compared to Ethereum and Solana, Aptos simplifies creating and managing fungible assets into objects.
Aptos Digital Asset Standard (NFTs): This standard offers a standardized approach to defining unique digital asset ownership on the Aptos blockchain. Aptos redefines NFT creation and management by utilizing object-oriented models. With an emphasis on flexibility, composability, and scalability, the standard sets itself apart by allowing tokens to possess other NFTs, introducing a new layer of composability. It also promotes extensibility, supporting custom data and functionalities without altering the core framework.
The result of this object model to representing assets means that Aptos solves many of the aforementioned issues, for example:
- tokens on Aptos follow less unpredictable behaviors
- the Aptos Fungible Asset Standard and pre-signature transparency removes tokens as smart contract code, making malicious tokens less prevalent
- spend approvals are no longer necessary as token objects are transferred between accounts as opposed to the Ethereum and Solana model of tokens being a balance in a smart contract
- wallets on Aptos now instantly know what tokens a user holds: there is no longer a need to “import tokens”, as users actually custody their tokens in their account directly.
Using objects rather than the traditional account based model, Aptos offers an enhanced user experience over Ethereum and Solana, simplifying asset transfers and ownership.
Radix takes Aptos’ object model even further, enshrining tokens and NFTs as native first class objects, understood and governed by the platform, entirely distinct and separate from smart contract code.
Unlike many existing platforms that treat assets as secondary elements often externalized from the core system (see for instance how tokens on Ethereum are represented as ERC20 contracts built by a developer, not enshrined in the core system), Radix integrates assets directly within the core functionality of its network.
Here, assets such as tokens or NFTs are not just additional entities; they are integral "resources" that Radix’s virtual machine, Radix Engine, recognizes, controls, and guarantees the behavior of.
This emphasis on native assets addresses a critical challenge in the DeFi landscape: clarity and trust. In many traditional Web3 wallets, users face ambiguity regarding their holdings. Tokens, especially those of the LP kind, frequently lack transparent details, necessitating users to rely on external platforms or decentralized apps for insights. This approach not only complicates the user experience but also introduces potential vulnerabilities from external dependencies.
Radix's native assets, however, ensure a direct and transparent representation. Each asset detail, from basic token attributes to complex NFT definitions, resides within the native asset's resource configuration. This approach eliminates the need for users to traverse intricate smart contract codes or external sites to understand how a token behaves. Because the behavior of assets on Radix is guaranteed by the Radix Engine virtual machine, this offers a clearer, more direct understanding of what a token is capable of doing, shielding users from potential risks associated with external asset verifications and improving trust. This profoundly transforms the utility of the Radix Wallet. Armed to access each asset's configuration directly, the wallet offers transparent details on the details associated with each asset and the behaviors that its capable of, enhancing the user experience.
Radix labels itself the “Full Stack for DeFi”
By making assets a foundational aspect of its platform, this solves many of the aforementioned user experience issues:
- Spend approvals are no longer necessary (like Aptos)
- Users no longer need to be wary of “malicious” tokens that could drain a user’s account, as the behavior of tokens on Radix is governed by the Radix Engine virtual machine.
- Because token behavior is controlled by Radix Engine, the Radix Wallet can show exactly the behaviors that a token is capable of, such as if a token can be burned, recalled, or new supply minted.
- Users actually custody their tokens in their account, as a token is like a physical object inside the account.
- The Radix Wallet knows all the tokens in a user’s account immediately, solving the problem of having to manually import tokens.
